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New Career Mode Mechanics


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One of the most discussed aspects of KSP is easily the career mode. What should be added, what should be removed or simply, how career mode should be. If you don't believe me, you can always feel free to ask @Veeltch as he's got a very clear vision how it should be. However for those of us who don't want career mode completely gutted and rebuilt, but rather made better (like myself), then I have a few ideas for what could be added to better take advantage of KSP's mechanics.

Originally I was going to package these ideas with the KSP story concept I've been threatening but after some discussion with others a few months back it was decided that the attempt would likely be at best a "Fan Works" idea and too overly debated for it to be enjoyed as a real suggestion. So I dropped work on it. These mechanics I'm suggesting were to be utilized in this 'story mode', but seeing as it likely won't be, I can at least not let the ideas and concepts die with my story.

Firstly;

Build payloads to fit within operational margins.

Whether it be to fit within a set fairing shape or even making sure the payload can be lifted by a set lifter; being restrained by the launch vehicle is a real life situation which many payload developers must work with. When designing a vehicle, you might not have control over another aspect of the rocket. Maybe you can't add another stage to account for the weight, maybe you can't add RCS

This is a puzzle solving aspect that would force players to think in ways that in current KSP that can simply solve by adding another set of rocket engines or "MOAR BOOSTERS", but with this mechanic, players can't add more boosters to solve their problem. They have to deicide what equipment is required to get the job done and build it to fit within those restraints.

 

Secondly; 

Kerbin Based Contracts

Whether be to pick-up a stranded Kerbal, or search for one who's MIA after returning from a space mission (*cough Recover Vessel *cough*). MIA missions should simply be where you'd have a vehicle from the KSC take off and go search a set diameter area (similar to current area survey missions), however in that set area would be a Kerbal. Unlike how they are now where they have an indicator at 100km away, this 'lost' Kerbal wouldn't be highlighted until you were (for example) 200m from them. Noting Kerbin's current bland terrain, it's not difficult but once sighted, you'd collect them and return them to the KSC and recover them for contract completion (more airside contracts). Other contracts could include flying passengers to spawned crafts which would act as outposts or whatnot. There are so many missions I can think of that I'll simply list them in the spoiler below;

Spoiler

List of things that can be done on Kerbin:

  • Moving passengers from the KSC to set destinations
  • Recovering lost Kerbals
  • Recovering lost data from downed crafts
  • Kethene Collection Operations
  • Delivery of cargo (same as my first point but hauled by aircraft), fuel, or passengers to set desintations (maybe cycling Kerbals manning the new Ground Network Stations?)
  • Development of Research Outposts
  • Collecting of 'on the side of the road hardware (elaborated below in point 4)
  • Moving of cargo, fuel or passengers but boat
  • Collecting of completed space missions (vehicles, science, and or crew)
  • Transfering of science data between Kerbals
  • Picking up Kerbals on the side of the road needing a ride (hitchhikers/ Uber)
  • Flag Planting major points of interests (mountain tops, new biomes)
  • Designing of viewing stands (make some bleachers!)
  • Performing of silly experiments (who doesn't?)
  • Mid-air refueling missions
  • Sounding rockets (borderlining of space but still in Kerbin's atmosphere)
  • Speed racing
  • Through the river canyons challenges
  • More fishing (that was a cool hidden easter egg I'd like to see more of)
  • Underwater operations
  • investigating wrecks or various landmarks (maybe monoliths and easter eggs?)
  • Relying communication network from a craft on the ground/air back to the KSC
  • Delivery of Kethene to the KSC from various locations
  • Testing of new crafts (not just parts alone)
  • Removing hardware from the runway/Launchpad
  • Cleaning up of debris from the KSC
  • Ferry land crafts across water via small bridges or boats
  • Vomit Comet flights (variant A) flying a aircraft performing steep arches
  • Vomit Comet flights (variant B) being a kerbal in a cargo bay doing tasks while in the 0 G (maybe going from one end to another? interacting with objects in the cargo bay, etc)
  • Glider flights

and lots more...

People complain the career mode is a bit dragging once you get in the middle and are relying solely on contracts to progress so you can get cash to perform more science. @Veeltch's ideas come into play here as to why the science aspect and contracts shouldn't be part of KSP but at least the attempt to add more contracts and tasks can help. Especially if one these tasks identifies to the players better.

 

Thirdly;

Return of the limited number of parts

3IGHypf.jpg

Back in the olden days of KSP when I first got the game; KSP used to have a counter on the top right of the part info box which would inform you how many of them you had. Now this never went anywhere as with the introduction of science it was more important to see if the base game worked without extra difficulties such as part limiters. Now that we're far beyond the olden days of .21, I'd like to see that aspect return. We can assume that the parts are naturally built overtime but you'd also be capable of gather parts and whatever parts you reuse could return in this 'amount in stock counter' (an additional bonus for reusing hardware!). Aspects like this would give even more separation of career mode from sandbox whereas career mode is simply sandbox with a budget and a limitation of what parts you can access. Course this could be a game setting that for those who don't want to bother, can be disabled.

 

Finally;

As I mentioned before, and in conjunction with reason 3; you should be able to collect scraps and 'parts found on the side of the road' and be able to use them despite them not being in the players tech tree. They'd likely get no description on the part aside from information on it's mass. Like missing Kerbals, these parts wouldn't be locatable via map or long distance but rather after closing in past a set range. With things like this, it would encourage players to go on sight seeing flights hoping for locating things as well as give players something to do during those long flights to destinations. These parts would generate randomly every game and continue to as the game goes on.

 

 

In Conclusion...

KSP has many aspects which are bland as far as career mode however unlike others, I'm not entirely convinced it's a lost cause. There's still lots of room for improvement or change before I want to give it my final opinion. The game just needs more content as far as science mode. I feel it's bland because it's tasks are simple with nothing to do in the time leading up to it. With more tasks and more to do while waiting to complete them, they should become not only more bearable, but also more enjoyable as a whole. Granted again, the majority of this was to implemented alongside of a story so I hope you understand where these concepts were coming from and they initially weren't intended to just be added to KSP's career mode as is.

Anyway, that said, thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts. Feel this thread is a bit more rich and interesting compared to my other suggestions as of late.

 

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5 minutes ago, Veeltch said:

Please don't ping me when you're talking about career. Nothing will change anyway.

You've got interesting commentary and persistence is the key to at least try to get your ideas across.

Edited by ZooNamedGames
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On 1.04.2017 at 10:16 PM, ZooNamedGames said:

Kerbin Based Contracts

To make this work, they would have to disable recovery on Kerbin. So, for some missions to work, they would have to make return from orbit (especially early in game, when you don't have the means to aim precisely and land at KSC) very tedious. 

 

On 1.04.2017 at 10:16 PM, ZooNamedGames said:

We can assume that the parts are naturally built overtime but you'd also be capable of gather parts and whatever parts you reuse could return in this 'amount in stock counter' (an additional bonus for reusing hardware!)

So, before you can launch a rocket you have to timewarp until you have right number of parts or you have to grind other missions? Sounds as fun as 13th LKO rescue mission and survey. 

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42 minutes ago, _stilgar_ said:

To make this work, they would have to disable recovery on Kerbin. So, for some missions to work, they would have to make return from orbit (especially early in game, when you don't have the means to aim precisely and land at KSC) very tedious. 

 

So, before you can launch a rocket you have to timewarp until you have right number of parts or you have to grind other missions? Sounds as fun as 13th LKO rescue mission and survey. 

Still a lot of ideas; many of which are untapped.

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